doctor's orders
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: It was an exercise in futility, to try and bring Padparadscha back. -Rutile, Padparadscha


**Title: **Doctor's Orders

**Characters/Pairings:** Padparadscha, Rutile

**A/N:** Written for the Resonating Paths zine. I enjoyed writing this.

**Summary:** _It was an exercise in futility, to try and bring Padparadscha back._

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"It's been a while since I last saw it." Padparadscha sat on the porch, staring up at the night sky. The moon hung low and bright, out-dazzling any of the gems studded in the black backdrop. "Seems it hasn't changed either."

"I suppose not." Rutile glanced up from their papers briefly. Their lab coat softly glowed behind them, moonlight reflecting off the white fabric. "Though I'm not sure if that's for the best—perhaps if we destroyed it we wouldn't have to deal with the Lunarians."

Padparadscha laughed. Appearances aside, Rutile hadn't changed either. It was funny how much had stayed the same, whether 10, 50, or even 100 years had passed. How eternal things were. Even though the grass before them was not the same grass Padparadscha had last walked on, it was still grass all the same. "Then we'd lose this view."

"It'd be worth it." Rutile dismissed the distraction with a flick of their pen, their fingers elegantly scrawling notes once more. "Besides, I prefer the stars."

The cold stars. It made sense. Padparadscha gazed down at their chest, at the soft glitter of foreign gems still unpainted. "How dull. What did you use this time?"

"Almadine. A shard of beryl. Coral. Bloodstone" Rutile stared at the mismatched rocks, a frown on their face. "It's hard to find ones that match your hardness. Even worse, finding the right combination."

"What attempt is this now?" Padparadscha gently tapped one of the rocks, barely feeling the sensation. It was both part of and not part of them. It was funny how different their body felt each time they awoke, as though the gems that filled up their holes changed their structure in some way. Maybe it did—maybe the feelings of unborn gems lingered still in these shards, blending into Padparadscha's in some unchangeable way.

Rutile closed their eyes, tapping their cheek for a long moment. "54 021."

That many. And all of that effort for something that could last a few hours at most, days at best. Truly an exercise in futility. Padparadscha laced their hands behind their head, leaning into them. "Good thing you like puzzles."

"I get plenty of practice with the others. In exchange for patching it up." Rutile grinned darkly, their smile almost as sharp as the edge of their knife.

"So that's why they were calling you the quack doctor."

"Quack doctor?" Rutile's expression didn't change, their hand stilling for a moment. "Who?"

"Definitely not telling you that." Padparadscha snorted, staring pointedly at the fresh sheet of paper and ready pen. "Next time I wake up, someone's going to be missing an arm."

"I wouldn't go that far." When Padparadscha merely raised a brow in response, Rutile rolled their eyes. "I have enough patching them up without adding to it. Pho in particular…"

"Pho?" Padparadscha dropped their hands beside them, cocking their head as they ran through each gem. Jade, Diamond, Yellow—oh right, there had been a new one hiding behind Sensei's robes earlier. "The green one, right?"

"Hardness of 3.5 and an inability to realize just what that means." Rutile frowned, clenching their jaw. "Last time they picked up a sword, their arms fell off."

"Maybe they can borrow mine?" Padparadscha shrugged at Rutile's blank stare. "A suggestion."

"Their body would shatter and then I'd have to patch both of you up." Gathering up their papers, Rutile neatly shuffled them into a single pile. "It must be getting late if you're talking like that. We should turn in for the night."

"Mmm, I guess you're right. I am feeling a little lethargic." Padparadscha didn't move, staring out at the vast grasslands as they soaked in the faint moonlight. Sleeping was always a little scarier than they wanted to admit, especially regarding the _when_ of waking up. "I'll wait a bit longer."

A hand covered theirs, a faint press of unyielding stone. "Only a bit." A moment's silence and Rutile added, "It's a big moon. I wonder what effect it has on our excursions."

Padparadscha laughed, turning their hand gently so their fingers intertwined. "Should I start calling you quack doctor?"

Rutile snorted, an oddly inelegant sound for them. "Only if you don't want to wake up again."


End file.
